House Republican leaders are blaming the failure of the $700 billion Wall Street bailout on what they call a partisan speech by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi before the vote.

Pelosi, the House's top Democrat, outraged Republican members of their conference who might have been on the fence before her speech. By her words , she pushed them to vote against the legislation.

In a press conference, the House's top Republican, Rep. John Boehner, the Minority Leader, said:

I think that we need to renew our efforts to find a solution that Congress can support. I do believe that we could have gotten there today had it not been for this partisan speech that the speaker gave on the floor of the House.

I mean, we were, we were -- we put everything we had into getting the votes to get there today. But the speaker had to give a partisan voice that poisoned our conference; caused a number of members, who we thought we could get, to go south.

A good part of this is obviously political theater. House Republican leaders would love many voters to come to believe in coming weeks that Pelosi was to blame as Republicans they hope to pick up congressional seats or, at the very least, not lose the seats they have.

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA.) even held a copy of her speech in his hands like it was a bloody shirt as he blamed her words for the bill's failure.

Here's the prepared version of Pelosi's speech:

SPEAKER PELOSI: Madam Speaker, when was the last time someone asked you for $700 billion?

It is a number that is staggering, but tells us only the costs of the Bush Administration's failed economic policies-policies built on budgetary recklessness, on an anything goes mentality, with no regulation, no supervision, and no discipline in the system.

Democrats believe in the free market, which can and does create jobs, wealth, and capital, but left to its own devices it has created chaos.

That chaos is the dismal picture painted by Treasury Secretary Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke a week and a half ago in the Capitol. As they pointed out, we confront a crisis of historic magnitude that has the ability to do serious injury not simply to our economy, but to the American people: not just to Wall Street, but to everyday Americans on Main Street.

It is our responsibility today, to help avert that catastrophic outcome.

Let us be clear: This is a crisis caused on Wall Street. But it is a crisis that reaches to Main Street in every city and town of the United States.

It is a crisis that freezes credit, causes families to lose their homes, cripples small businesses, and makes it harder to find jobs.

It is a crisis that never had to happen. It is now the duty of every Member of this body to recognize that the failure to act responsibly, with full protections for the American taxpayer, would compound the damage already done to the financial security of millions of American families.

Over the past several days, we have worked with our Republican colleagues to fashion an alternative to the original plan of the Bush Administration.

I must recognize the outstanding leadership provided by Chairman Barney Frank, whose enormous intellectual and strategic abilities have never before been so urgently needed, or so widely admired.

I also want to recognize Rahm Emanuel, who combined his deep knowledge of financial institutions with his pragmatic policy experience, to resolve key disagreements.

Secretary Paulson deserves credit for working day and night to help reach an agreement and for his flexibility in negotiating changes to his original proposal.

Democrats insisted that legislation responding to this crisis must protect the American people and Main Street from the meltdown on Wall Street.

The American people did not decide to dangerously weaken our regulatory and oversight policies. They did not make unwise and risky financial deals. They did not jeopardize the economic security of the nation. And they must not pay the cost of this emergency recovery and stabilization bill.

So we insisted that this bill contain several key provisions:

This legislation must contain independent and ongoing oversight to ensure that the recovery program is managed with full transparency and strict accountability.

The legislation must do everything possible to allow as many people to stay in their homes rather than face foreclosure.

The corporate CEOs whose companies will benefit from the public's participation in this recovery must not benefit by exorbitant salaries and golden parachute retirement bonuses.

Our message to Wall Street is this: the party is over. The era of golden parachutes for high-flying Wall Street operators is over. No longer will the U.S. taxpayer bailout the recklessness of Wall Street.

The taxpayers who bear the risk in this recovery must share in the upside as the economy recovers.

And should this program not pay for itself, the financial institutions that benefited, not the taxpayers, must bear responsibility for making up the difference.

These were the Democratic demands to safeguard the American taxpayer, to help the economy recover, and to impose tough accountability as a central component of this recovery effort.

This legislation is not the end of congressional activity on this crisis. Over the course of the next few weeks, we will continue to hold investigative and oversight hearings to find out how the crisis developed, where mistakes were made, and how the recovery must be managed to protect the middle class and the American taxpayer.

With passage of this legislation today, we can begin the difficult job of turning our economy around, of helping those who depend on a growing economy and stable financial institutions for a secure retirement, for the education of their children, for jobs and small business credit.

Today we must act for those Americans, for Main Street, and we must act now, with the bipartisan spirit of cooperation which allowed us to fashion this legislation.

This not enough. We are also working to restore our nation's economic strength by passing a new economic recovery stimulus package- a robust, job creating bill-that will help Americans struggling with high prices, get our economy back on track, and renew the American Dream.

Today, we will act to avert this crisis, but informed by our experience of the past eight years with the failed economic leadership that has left us left capable of meeting the challenges of the future.

We choose a different path. In the new year, with a new Congress and a new president, we will break free with a failed past and take America in a New Direction to a better future.

Again, that was the prepared version of the speech. The version as she delivered it had this additional line:

There was this addition:

"For too long this government, eight years, has followed a right-wing ideology of anything goes, no supervision, no discipline, no regulation."

Comments

The poor babies...they got their feelings hurt so they'll take their ball and go home. Let's see how this plays out as the market drops 1500 and credit comes to a halt. They better danm well be right about being no crisis that needs urgent action or America may hang em high.

It's not Pelosi's fault that the Rebublicans are such babies. They chose to let the country sink, and this should prove that the Republicans have only one priority: themselves.

By the way, thanks should go out to John McCain for getting this bill passed. Wait...it didn't pass. I guess he spoke too soon when he grabbed the credit for its passing this morning. If McCain can't control his own party, how can he be an effective president?

Pelosi, Frank and Reid cannot keep their mouths shut. Good Grief, why doesn't she step down? They not once put the blame of their 94 that did not vote for it. They put it on the Republicans. I would rather eat beans and rice than pass that monstosity of a bill! They want the Republicnas to vote, so if it turns out to be a bomb, they can blame it on the Republicans.

How long have the Dems being in control of cogress as this ha all happen under the Democrat controlled Congress- remember they have done nothing but cry and blame Bush for everything
, look at the price of gas for example-

If Pelosi could handle her own caucus, she wouldn't need a single Republican vote to get this done. The "political theater" is entirely on the Demagogic side of the aisle. Nice try, big guy, but we're not biting.

This is exactly what I've been predicting since this whole thing started.

The entire bailout shenanigan is a ruse, a political dirty trick that will become known as the "September Surprise" because it will attempt to paint Democrats as the spearhead of the bailout package. The original proposal by Bush and Paulson was never intended to pass, but to be so insane that Congress would have no choice but to amend it and add regulations and oversight.

Then, Republicans could pounce, shouting their bogus claims that "the Democrats want a socialist state that takes your money and gives it to deadbeats who don't pay their mortgages!"

This entire thing is TOTALLY political, it's a shame the Dems didn't see it coming. It's also a shame that Republicans are destroying a country in order to win an election.

Dow is down what? 500? Keep it up Republicans, people start revolutions when they're hungry.

When are you going to learn to act as a leader instead of a screachy girl yelling "he did it"

I hope that you don't get more votes than the congressional approval rating because that is exactly what you deserve.

Resign - get out of town before you destroy the country. Wow - I hope the troops who are putting their lives on the line to protect our Republic don't throw down there weapons and say "that's it; they are not worth fighting for!"

Cavuto had TRUMP on FOX NEWS saying that the oil prices went up when they started talking bailout, BUT when they VOTED IT DOWN THE OIL PRICES DROPPED DRAMATICALLY. He said that if they will stop trying to manipulate the market and let the market do it's thing OIL WILL DROP DOWN TO NOTHING! He said that there isn't a thing anyone could do about it to bring them back p....the oil prices will come down to a shocking level.

We know that they won't fix the issue that will cause UNQUALIFIED LOANING CONTINUE....so why not let them work it out ALONE and take the low gas prices!

Don, you're full of it! Nancy and Harry have a majority in both houses! If congressmen and women of both parties didn't have serious reservations about this bill why couldn't Nancy just get enough of her members to vote for it? It says something about how little democrat members of congress align themselves with their leadership that Pelosy couldn't get even 10 of them to vote for this bill she supports. Pathetic.
Also, let's remember who asked for oversight of Fannie and Freddie in 2004 and '05, the republicans in congress and John McCain. Who fought against it? The democrats in the congressional black caucus and Barney Frank. That should tell you everything you need to know.
Nancy chose to throw stones when her party's fingerprints are all over this mess. Is there any wonder she has an 8% approval rating?

Well played, Republicans. Your own House and Senate leaders and McCain supported this bill, but then they couldn't even muster the votes. Zero leadership in the Republican Party. Enjoy your southern regional niche party come November, while the grownups clean up the mess.

Maybe columnist Kathleen Parker can call on Pelosi to step aside - for the good of the nation. Not only couldn't Pelosi resist partisan sniping, she wasn't able able to convince 95 Democrats to vote yes on this dog of a bailout. She is a failure as Speaker of the House, and her speech will go down as the worst example of putting party ahead of country. Bye Nancy. You just cost your party the election.

Pelosi should know that the last thing she should do is to blame the financial crisis on the Republicans while asking for their votes, especially when it's the Democrats who are in charge of Congress. Pelosi was playing the same old politics game and it backfires on her. It should be noted that 40% of her fellow Democrats joined the Republicans to vote against this bailout. Pelosi should resign her post.

pelosi and dems hold the majority if they wanted to pass it they could have 90 dems voted no pelosi obama clinton among others are what's wrong with washington the only man to fix it is john mccain mccain/palin 2008 mavericks that will clean up the coruption the greed on the hill.

95% of us are paying our mtgs but that's not enough. 5% can bring down the whole house of cards? Fannie and Freddie monopolized the mtg industry, created their own software EVERYONE had to use, rediculously eased restrictions and product offerings (100% financing, debt-to-income ratios exceeding 50% of GROSS income-approved, Expanded approvals(read subprime), etc) ALL stamped AAA by the crediting agency and sold in bulk to the securities market. And why? The GOVERNMENT's insistence on lending to those the market otherwise would not. Welcome to the gov't regulation no one talks about. And now to top it all off, we of the 95% are told WE should PAY to reduce the principal and monthly pymts of those that should never have received a loan in the 1st place. By the way, if you don't know what the word "adjustable" means you shouldn't be able to get a loan. It's BS to suggest that all these mtgs were made to those that did not understand. BULL! No one held a gun to the heads of the borrowers. They ABSOLUTELY KNEW what they were doing. ONLY if it can be proven fraud took place should we the taxpayer be asked to bail the borrower out. WAKE up Washington. The American people have had ENOUGH. Pass legislation ensuring equal opportunity NOT equal results. And BALANCE the darn budget. It's embarrassing that the most prosperous nation in the history of the world can't elect Leaders with the guts to say NO We can't afford it.

The market lost over $800b today - much of that is in pension funds and individual accounts - which many of us plan on for a graceful retirement.

But the immediate danger is fear - on the part of consumers and businesses, who will put off purchases. When this happens, the companies they buy from, large and small, will have less income, and therefore need fewer employees - and the lay offs will start.

Sorry but the Republicans are screwed no matter what. Of course they want to blame Pelosi for laying the mess on them. But to not pass it puts their political careers before country, to pass it means defeat in a month... Really, if it weren't my entire lifesavings, I could enjoy this a lot more!!
PS Bush IS to blame for everything!!

Now that I've read Pelosi's speech, I completely understand why the Republicans revolted. How dare she. She knows full well that it was the policies of Freddie and Fannie that got us here - which is a Democratic party disaster. How dare she mess this up?

So let me get this straight the Repubs. voted against the bill because their feelings were hurt because of what Pelosi said.You vote against a bill that the leaders of your party say is in the best interest of the country because you FEELINGS were hurt! Think about this folks if banks stop extending credit your VISA and MC card will be frozen
and they will call in your outstanding balance.

PREDICTION: Sooner or later, most Americans will come to understand what the Democrat Party has done to this nation. When that day comes, the Democrat criminals will pray to the God that they so love to mock for mercy. "Up against the wall" may be the last thing some of them ever hear.
Taken from The Bench

Hey right wingers, did Pelosi threaten your families if you didn't vote one way? Did she hold a gun to your head? Of course not! You CHOSE to reject the bill. You CHOSE to avoid responsibility for your vote. A speech isn't a vote. A vote is a vote and the Republics CHOSE to vote no out of spite. They have no one to blame but themselves.

I'm not hoping to pick up any seats, I'm just sitting at home watching C-Span and Pelosi's speech was OUTRAGEOUS. She blamed what the Dems did on Republicans.

Waters was laughable as she spoke of the PREDITORY LENDING that took place. THAT IS A JOKE>they supported going after banks saying they were racist if they didn't make that lending. Dems think ACORN and CRA do wonderful work.

Any bank trying to go against bad loans are racists and anyone who tried criticizing forcing banks to make loans were called racists. Anyone LOOKING THIS OVER NOW that criticize the practive we found that took place are CALLED RACISTS. NO one seems to think it's bad to stick the poor and minorities with bad loans UNTIL NOW ha ha.

Damned if you do and damned if you don't....but always DAMNED ha ha.

Trump said that the OIL PRICES WILL DROP TO NOTHING if we don't have a BAILOUT. He said there would be nothing anyone could do to change that. If they start pushing to manipulate it with a BAILOUT prices will climb again.

Is anyone really surprised? This is what happens when you have a child grown older who has never held a real job in a position as powerful as speaker of the house of the US congress.
Pelosi constantly puts party ahead of the good of the American people and her approval rating shows it.

I'm not sure how its the Republican's fault the bill didn't pass. There is no longer a Republican majority in either house. Even if 100% of Republicans were to have voted for the bill, it wouldn't pass without Democratic support.

So, let's see... you don't think that Bush's inability to communicate his plan to the American people had anything to do with this? Americans have been calling their representatives in record numbers. Republicans didn't vote with their President... because of Pelosi?? Really?? You believe that?

It didn't get the vote because Americans don't want it. It is very hard to believe that this bailout that is the brainchild of people who have little confidence in it themselves... is actually structured to work. They threw this thing together in no time at all... and when questioned on it... all they kept saying is "I don't know"... I don't know if it will work, I don't know if the money will be paid back, I don't know what this will do to the average citizen... blame Pelosi if you want... but then you are just making her a hero to many, many Americans.

Oh, PLEASE. Does anyone really think they didn't vote because the poor, little House Repubs got their feelings hurt by that big, bad Nancy Pelosi. Grow some. Boehner simply didn't have the votes and found the most expedient whipping boy. Frankly, if we have little girly Republicans in those seats who're afraid their own constituents will vote them out in a few weeks, they effing deserve it. They played a big part in getting us here by voting for all of Bush's spending initiatives over the past 8 years. It's time to face the music.

Just one more disaster that happened on the Republican's watch. Republicans will go down in history as the party that let 9/11 happen, let a city be destroyed by a hurricane, and let our financial institutions collapse. Yeah, real proud party. None of those things happend when Clinton was in the White House. All we got then was that dreaded peace and prosperity...

"In 2005 the Bush administration recommended the most significant regulatory overhaul in the housing finance industry since the savings and loan crisis a decade ago. Under the plan, disclosed at a Congressional hearing , a new agency would be created within the Treasury Department to assume supervision of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored companies that were the two largest players in the mortgage lending industry. The new agency would have the authority, which now rests with Congress, to set one of the two capital-reserve requirements for the companies. It would exercise authority over any new lines of business. And it would determine whether the two are adequately managing the risks of their ballooning portfolios." Democrats pushed back. "Among the groups denouncing the proposal today were the National Association of Home Builders and Congressional Democrats who fear that tighter regulation of the companies could sharply reduce their commitment to financing low-income and affordable housing". "These two entities, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not facing any kind of financial crisis", said Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee. "The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing." Representative Melvin L. Watt, Democrat of North Carolina, agreed. "I don't see much other than a shell game going on here, moving something from one agency to another and in the process weakening the bargaining power of poorer families and their ability to get affordable housing," Mr. Watt said.

Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, do not know how to govern or legislate. They only know how to play politics with ever major issue including this bailout.

All the problems began when the Democrats took over the congress (2 years ago). Now they put together a half-assed proposal and are trying to bully the republicans to vote for it. It didn't help that Nancy Pelosi opened your stupid big mouth and used this moment to campaign for her cause. Shame on her, why is this woman in this position. She is a complete idiot.

Of course the Republicans will pull another stunt to shift blame. That's all they do. That's all they ever have done for the last decade. As economist Brad DeLong says, time to plow the Republican Party under and sow salt in the furrows. Get rid of it. Then replace it with a proper conservative party.

Typical Pelosi--- I find it entertaining to see her time and time again use any moment to dredge up the old "Bush Administration this or that." How on earth did this woman get her job? If it was so needed and she was so focused on making it pass, then she shouldn't have "injected presidential politics"--something her and her clan have been so against when it came to the meeting of McCain/Bush/Obama. As to the bail out---good riddance. I don't care about bailing out greedy people who provide us with more credit that just screws people all over. Let the companies buy each other out---and the market just take it's course. Maybe it needs to down size to really reflect it's real worth. It's not like pumping more money into a problem would solve anything but buy the greedy people more time. 780 points---I predicted that cry baby Wall st would try a number like that to reflects it's displeasure with the failure of a 700 billion dollar bail out. I thought all those smart people on Wall St went to Harvard and Yale and have all the answers. Instead it seems when it comes to making a buck all reason goes out the window. Elitists. The only smart people go to Columbia these days--like Mark Silva.

Why would anyone of normal intelligence deliever a politically charged speech Like this? Nancy Pelosi must be the most ignorant person on this planet. Did she believe she was gaining support for the bailout? Who wrote her speech? She's the first female Speaker of the House and she's also the worst! She represents no one. People have worked non-stop for day to craft a passable measure and she destroys any chance of passage wtih a needless diatribe. Between her and Harry Reid there just one person short of the "three stooges".

The large banks that are left after this crisis will be close to monopoly. Thousands of good people are losing their jobs, and many profitable segments of these american companies are getting bought cheap by foreign money. This bailout if resurrected could still do a lot of good.

The American people want to see some accountability for the easy credit that got us into this mess. This includes everyone up the food chain from individuals who bought twice the home they could afford to the Goldman Sachs brokers. This has to be an explicit principle of the bill.

While there is PLENTY of blame to go around to both parties, to congress, and to the president, this was a really stupid thing for Pelosi to do. It shows not only a lack of leadership, but was selfish (as if to try and save her own rear end from the backlash). This is a failure of government and while the Bush presidency deserves most of the blame, congress really did nothing.

I wouldn't vote to spend 700 billion either. Democrats did right. Republicans WANT them to do it ALL. What are they paid to do??? Watch? I wont blame those who tried to help others. Those who think about themselves are selfish and have no spine. Pelosi is right. In the end we are going to get to the ROOT of the problem which is not congress, but evil American businessmen who let this happen.

This economic crisis stems from the Clinton Adminstration's willingness to allow people with poor to no credit access to money they shouldn't be spending. People living beyond their means is where this all started. Check this article out dated September 30th, 1999... not a bad prediction of what we're experiencing right now.

Basing your "confidence" on the Speaker's jab at Republican leadership is absolutely no reason to put the jobs of many Americans, and the retirement savings of even more Americans, on the line. Is our Congress seriously full of a bunch of 8-year-olds? Answer: Yes.

Balony. They heard from some angry constituents and ran scared in an effort to save their own jobs in November, even though it will cost many of their shortsighted constituents their jobs. They voted to cut their own constituents' retirement savings, knowing their own congressional pensions are safe.

They knew the right thing to do for the country was to vote for this bill, but they caved to protect themselves, throwing the rest of us under the bus.

The members of the House who voted against this are cowards, and little better than traitors.

Although I didn't hear today's speech, it is quite similar to Pelosi's words yesterday. When she stood before the mike Sunday and unabashedly blamed ONLY the Bush administration for this crisis--and then credited ONLY the few Dems surrounding her for the hard work in fashioning an agreement, I was outraged at the low level to which this horrid woman would sink in the interest of partisanship.

1) After John McCain announced that he would suspend his campaign and go to Washington last week to do what he could to help, the Democrats quickly and prematurely announced they had a virtual deal. They did this so they could take credit for the agreement and especially so they could make Senator McCain seem unnecessary. NOW, in her speech she says the original deal (again, which was never a deal at the time) was unacceptable to the Democrats and they had to fix it!! Do you all see how twisted that is?

2) Blaming the current administration for this mess entirely conveniently le3aves out changes the Democrats made in the late '90s to force financial instutions to give loans basically to people who couldn't afford them under previous structures with sufficient proof of appropriate financial ability to repay. Although we certainly should have had more, or louder, warning over the past several years, the the housing and mortgage crisis began under President Clinton's administration, but Pelosi skips right over that FACT.

John McCain was exactly right to suggest that both candidates stop campaigning and get to work until an acceptable solution was worked out. Too bad Democrats like Pelosi, Dodd, Reid, Frank, and Obama haven't a shred of the class and willingness to form a bipartisan coalition to accomplish something they insist is SO URGENT!

All you geniuses that keep saying that the Democrats have been in control of congress during this financial mess are hi-larious! Emphasis on hi. It was the Republican Congress that didn't provide any oversight on the Bush Administration. The Democrats inherited this mess. I find it interesting that the GOP wanted deregulation. They got it...it didn't work and now they don't want to take the blame. Hmmmm sounds familiar...

In 2005 the Republicans had a majority, why didn't the Fannie/Freddie bill pass. It's a just silly to blame this on the dems. And for a group of people who have been screaming that words don't matter, to let a speech change there vote...how dare they gamble with our economy over hurt feelings. It's absurd. What happened to the party I used to vote for? Have the really turned into whining crybabies blaming a SPEECH because they couldn't get their caucus in line. The Dems got their majority, the Republicans killed it, plain and simple and now I'm going to have to leave the party, and I'm pissed.

People seriously, Pelosi doesn't want the bill to pass. She isn't trying to convince the Democrats or anyone else that this Bill is a good thing, because its not necessarily the best option for helping the market. This bill protects the very people who created the situation and does not offer that same protection the average American. Our taxes will go up to keep their lives comfortable, and if this Bill passed the average American would not be seeing a return or an advantage when the market starts to rise again. The language in this Bill needs to be fixed, and it may take some time to do that. We shouldn't be hasty, and we shouldn't want our representatives to get us into a situation that might hurt us in the long run.

IF, that speech was the ONLY reason they voted down the package, then they SHOULD be voted out of office themselves. IF it was a bad package they shouldn't have voted for but intended to vote for it no matter what it was, why would they whine about her speech. America needs leaders not gutless party whiners and OBVIOUSLY if a speech by Pelosi affects them so horridly then they don't have it..

"In 2005 the Bush administration recommended the most significant regulatory overhaul in the housing finance industry since the savings and loan crisis a decade ago. Under the plan, disclosed at a Congressional hearing , a new agency would be created within the Treasury Department to assume supervision of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored companies that were the two largest players in the mortgage lending industry. The new agency would have the authority, which now rests with Congress, to set one of the two capital-reserve requirements for the companies. It would exercise authority over any new lines of business. And it would determine whether the two are adequately managing the risks of their ballooning portfolios." Democrats pushed back. "Among the groups denouncing the proposal today were the National Association of Home Builders and Congressional Democrats who fear that tighter regulation of the companies could sharply reduce their commitment to financing low-income and affordable housing". "These two entities, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not facing any kind of financial crisis", said Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee. "The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing." Representative Melvin L. Watt, Democrat of North Carolina, agreed. "I don't see much other than a shell game going on here, moving something from one agency to another and in the process weakening the bargaining power of poorer families and their ability to get affordable housing," Mr. Watt said.

Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, do not know how to govern or legislate. They only know how to play politics with ever major issue including this bailout.

Posted by: mike c | September 29, 2008 5:13 PM

This is really where the problems lie. That and the fact Obama was a major supporter, in his community organizing day, of promoting banks to lend to borrowers with suspect credit.

This is a rallying cry of the Republicans, if they play this information correctly, could turn the tables on this election.

For the people who blame the Republicans on this post. Here is the fact: 40% of Democrats also voted against this bailout plan. Had Nancy Pelosi been able to persuade them to vote her way, the bailout would have been passed. So if there is anyone to blame: it's Pelosi. With that said, I think this is a great day for the American tax payers.

Pelosi couldn't play nice or get her dems to vote for this bill. She is a loser and should step down. The dems have proven again and again they can not lead. And they want us to vote for Obama? Come on! Pelosi needed republican votes and stabbed them in the chest (not even the back) right before the roll call. How stupid can you get? This is so frustrating! Both parties have guilt in the mortgage mess. The dems started it with the Community Reinvestment Act in the early nineties -the last time they owned the executive and legislative branches! Say No to Obama or we'll get more of this!

What a stupid speech after days of non partisan efforts to avoid a depression. Pelosi should be impeached for such an insensative idiodic move. I am a registered Democrat and am truly ashamed of her efforts
Ben W. Johnson

What a stupid speech after days of non partisan efforts to avoid a depression. Pelosi should be impeached for such an insensative idiodic move. I am a registered Democrat and am truly ashamed of her efforts
Ben W. Johnson

Illinois Conservative... you are kidding right? Bush and his cronies have been robbing the company store for 8 years and you want to blame this mess on 1 1/2 years of Pelosi? Get real!! The Bush administration and people in power that don't like regulation caused this right beside Wall Street.

This is a republican party problem and they will pay dearly in November.

I'm curious. Have any of you actually read Pelosi's speech for yourselves? I suggest you do, and I challenge you to find any gratuitously partisan jabs in there. True to form, it's about as milquetoast as you could imagine.

The problem with the economy and the country is the fault of Republicans not Democrats. Pelosi is a good Democrat Speaker trying to repair the damage of a out of control Republican era of Deregulation and robing the poor to give to the rich. Don't blame her speech Blame McCain.

In January 2006, newly-installed Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi crowed that with the Democrats having a majority in both houses, the Republicans were "irrelevant" and that Republican input to the legislative process was unneeded, unwanted, and would not be permitted. Now, when the bailout bill proves to be so repugnant that about 40% of the Democrats vote against it, the Democratic leadership blames--the Republicans? If Ms. Pelosi had been able to deliver her own party's votes, the bill would have passed even if every Republican had voted against it. That bill must have some really nasty hidden "gotchas" in it to have 90 Democrats vote against it.

Phil Gramm was part right: REPUBLICANS are nothing but whiners! Poor babies! Mama was mean to them! So they voted against a bill their own president was lobbying for! Boo Hoo!

If it weren't so serious, it would be to laugh.

And, Lori, you got TWO things wrong:
1) In a Bipartisan bill BOTH parties not only SHAPE the legislation, the two parties VOTE FOR IT!
2) If some people got in over their heads with their mortgages, it wasn't THOSE folks who began creating mystical Financial BETS on sub-prime aggregates. No, THOSE are the people the bail-out was supposed to protect. So take your McCain talking points and shove 'em,

It is pretty amazingly ironic that this is coming from the Speaker of the House - the same 'leader' who failed to bring 95 of her own party's members along with her to vote accordingly. The House leadership is what has failed here, first and foremost.

"PS Bush IS to blame for everything!!"
Wow, sure glad you're thinking rationally. Don, the only poll that counts is the one on November 4th.
Honestly, if they don't pass a bill tomorrow or the next day there'll be no point to passing one at all. The massive contraction in the credit markets has already begun. Everyone knows Bush and the treasury department tried to take over Fannie and Freddie in 2005 and the democrats stopped him. They own this crisis and tough talk to rally their rabble won't help them.

Jimbo--So the $62 trillion dollar credit swap derivative market was Clinton's fault now. And, tell me, when did banks EVER do anything they didn't think would deliver profits? Oh, and deliver it did--billions upon billions as long as Greenspans's economy "frothed" along. When Bush assumed office, I believe the Credit Default Swap business was at a trillion. So Ex-President Clinton made Investment banks over-leverage to the tune of $62 trillion? And the owners of those mortgages told the banks to borrow money recklessly and under-capitalize their investments with derivatives buried in portfolio's with Moody AAA ratings? So pathetic how the same people who hailed the "efficiency" of unfettered markets are now blaming government for all their problems. But not all government, just those wily democrats who wanted more regulation.

Clearly, Mortgage Loans should not be made to people with:
- No Down Payment
- No Real Income
- No Liquid Assets
- No Reliable Credit History

If a mortgage company did not make this loan, democrats would call it "a discriminatory practice" or "red-lining".

We have already established that democrats do not understand Energy. They do not understand Economics. They do not understand the very simple concept of a mortgage. Unfortunately, with the 24/7 round-d-clock msm love-apalloza for Obama, too many average Americans may never figure any of this out. We will all get to pay for this, in some way.

It amazes me how liberals are blaming the Republicans for the bailout bill not passing. 133 Republicans DID vote against the bill but NINETY-FIVE DEMOCRATS VOTED AGAINST THE BILL as well. Why are the Republicans blamed while 95 members of Pelosi's own party are conveniently not blamed????

Whether the bill would have passed without GOP support or not is beside the point here -- the issue at hand is that the Republican House leadership came out and said that the reason Republicans did not vote for this plan was because Nancy Pelosi hurt their feelings.

Are you kidding me?!? They deliberately jeopardized the global economy out of spite?!? If this plan was worthwhile, it shouldn't have mattered what Pelosi said about them. If your house caught on fire, would you stop the firefighters from putting it out if one of them was a jerk? This is a GOP failure, plain and simple.

Ahh, you people are missing something. What is reprinted above is her prepared words. We don't know what she actually said IN ADDITION and we don't know her TONE.

As anyone who has followed Pelosi knows, she is highly partisan and out for herself.

This is one reason why Congress's ratings are in the single digits. She is probably the worst Speaker we have every had in a long, long time.

She couldn't even get enough Democrats to vote for it either.

The reality is this whole financial mess is because of the Democrats and their Socialist ideas. It goes right back to the Community Reinvestment Act that forced banks through REGULATION to make loans to areas with people who wouldn't normally qualify.

Once again, the true problem rears it's ugly head out into the isle of bipartisanship. Republicans blame Democrats and Democrats blame Republicans. If each side would stop for one second and realize that their pathetic infighting is what is causing the indecision and confusion around the country, they may be able to step up to the plate and get a thing or two done. For God's sake, if the Cubs have been able to figure out how to create a winning team after 100 years, you'd think that our government could do the same. It is time for all of us to quit blaming everyone else. What we don't want to admit is that it was our own greed and stupidity that got us into this mess. Some will say that it's the evil bankers' fault for creating the sub-prime loans. Yes, they knew what they were getting themselves into. This is why when all of the sub-prime mortgages were being signed, Bank of America was refraining. They knew better. Now, they are buying up failing banks and standing on top with JP Morgan Chase and CitiGroup. But here's the thing, we wanted those loans. We went in and were told the risk and went with it anyway because we had been so used to prosperity that we didn't want to think it could happen. Unfortunately, it did and now is the time to reap what we sowed. Also, the stock market is driven by our emotions. If you think otherwise, you need to check out what is going on. If everyone would quit freaking out when someone says the sky is falling, the market could become a bit more stable and the individuals that we pay to work the market for our advantage could do their job. It is not the fault of the big, bad Wall Street leaders. They are just more of us. They are people trying to work the market for their advantage. Some have more power than others, but welcome to America. That is what this country is founded on. The idea that if you work hard and do things right, you can achieve a position where you can have influence. So wake up America! Stop crying and blaming everyone else. It is our time to step up and take care of our country. We cannot depend on the government to do everything for us. Should they have done things differently in the past? Sure. But that is the beauty of hindsight. We have all done things in the past which we should have done differently, but we don't get to sit around blaming everyone else. At least, not if we want to get anywhere. We have to stand up and change things. We can do it if everyone would be willing to quit whining and do their part. For the previous week, our lawmakers have been trying to put something together that could help us out. Yes, even George Bush is trying to work out a bill that crosses party lines and aligns more with the Democratic beliefs than the Republican. They screwed up in the past but they are trying to do their part. Instead of sitting here on our pedestals judging everyone, we need to get down and join the fight. Do your part. Have faith in the America that we love and embrace. It is easy to sit back and talk about smart saving and investing, but that will only get you so far. If your country's economy is failing, that money that you worked so hard to save and spent wisely is worth less and less everyday. We all have to do our part. We all have to admit our wrongs and act to correct them. Let's, for once, work together and solve this problem.

As Rahm Emanuel stated after the vote, if Republican Representatives wanted to exercise Profiles in Courage, they would not care about speeches and they would put America first and vote yes. Speaker Pelosi, you are 3rd in line to the Presidency and the leader of the House. Shut up and show some Profiles in Courage and get your party in line if you feel we must pass legislation that helps America.

This just goes to show that Republicans will do anything--ANYTHING--to try and win elections. Whining about Pelosi's speech is as bogus as they come. But it's not even as bad as the time another GOP icon, Newt Gingrich, tried to shut down the government because he was upset that he was asked to sit on the back of Air Force One when Clinton was president.

Current Republicans are nothing but narcissistic, reactionary troglodytes who need to be replaced by people who actually have brains and have some idea of what they say they stand for: "Country First".

Folks, the recriminations passing back and forth between the Democratic and Republican leadership in Congress are childish and irrational. Boehner should learn to keep his mouth shut about why the majority of Republicans didn't vote for the bill - because he doesn't know. I seriously doubt that two thirds of them voted against the bill because they were miffed at Pelosi. That number tells me they just weren't buying into the bill as written - and for good reason. Pelosi also needs to learn to keep her mouth shut instead of playing partisan politics in such critical moments.
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As for those of you who like to assign blame for the financial crisis, it's time to look at the facts and realize that there is plenty of blame to pass around both inside and out of Washington and the government. Removing restrictions on commercial and investment banks, failing to regulate the shift of risk away from capitalized financial institutions to bonds and securities; pushing for, and failing to curb, irresponsible lending practices; failing to rein in Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac, the excessive money supply, the greed on Wall Street, and on and on - all represent numerous systemic failures in the market and the federal government over the last thirty years or so, and for which blame can be assigned to both major political parties. It took so much bungling to get where we are, there is simply no single guilty party or group of guilty people.

I beg your pardon? To me, Pelosi's speech seemed to encourage the passage of the bill, unless those conditions were not part of it. And if those conditions were not part of it, it shouldn't have been passed. I contacted my elected officials, and though my rep didn't do as I requested (not voting for him next month!), enough reps did listen to their constituents. Thank God for that.

I agree with the first poster. The Repbulicans sold ALL OF US out acting like kids on a playground, picking up their ball and going home. I intend to work against the re-election of each and every one of them. They don't deserve to be in any sort of position of power.

I don't think sticking out their tongues and saying "so there!" while the Dow took its biggest hit yet is acting like responsible adults.

As Rahm Emanuel stated after the vote, if Republican Representatives wanted to exercise Profiles in Courage, they would not care about speeches and they would put America first and vote yes. Speaker Pelosi, you are 3rd in line to the Presidency and the leader of the House. Shut up and show some Profiles in Courage and get your party in line if you feel we must pass legislation that helps America.

Her actual remarks deviated vastly from the prepared text, so much so that it's actually misleading to refer to it as anything other than a suggestion of what she originally intended to say before she was overcome by partisan venom.

Why do the democrats and pelosi get punished with not delivering the votes? This was a bipartisan issue from the beginnning and leaders from both parties were involved in the creation of the bill (otherwise it would not have made it to the floor). This how congress operates in emergencies. Repeat: it never would have come to a vote if it didn't have the votes. The reason it failed is that the bill had defectors. If the reason for this is a weakly partisan speech, than those lawmakers should be taken out back and spanked. I'm a republican, but any argument along these lines is plain stupid. These people are ones we count on to make decisions about OUR longterm future, not their shortterm ambitions.

You apparently miss the POINT HERE. I heard MEDIA trying to scare us all with that bunch of BULL too. LET ME WAKE YOU NUMB NUTS UP....they have been giving out car loans, credit cards, housing loans TO EVERYONE THAT COULD NOT AFFORD IT ha ha .....YOU ACTUALLY THINK THAT $HIT IS GOING TO MOVE ME> NO MORE LOANS EEEEEEEK WE MIGHT FALL APART...UNLIKE WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW WITH ALL THESE PRESENT LOANS and POOR CREDIT.

There are two possible explanations for the speech that Pelosi delivered:
1. Pelosi is absolutely politically tone deaf: blaming the Republicans while asking for their votes.
2. Pelosi, as the leader of the Democrats, ALREADY knew that she didn't have enough votes from the Democrats (40% of Democrats voted against the plan), and just deliberately provoked the Republicans with a partisan speech so that she could later cast the blame on them.

In either case, Nancy Pelosi should resign for failure to lead her own party.

1. Tax cuts leading to massive, unprecedented deficits
2. Preemptive wars against non-aggressive nations
3. Sanctioning of torture
4. De-regulation of environment protections
5. Weakening of the separation of church and state
6. Exempting the gun industry from lawsuits
7. Weakening of individual privacy protections
8. Rejection of international organizations - U.N., World Court, etc.
9. Increased hatred of the U.S.A. in Islamic countries
10. Increase in terrorist attacks since 9/11
11. Neglect of poverty in the U.S.A. and abroad
12. Shifting the tax burden from wealthy corporations and individuals to wage earners
13. Reducing (hoping to abolish) estate taxes thus creating "a permanent aristocracy" in America
14. Furthering anti-intellectualism - a president who admittedly does not read and is embarrassingly inarticulate
15. Increased military spending; hostility to spending for social services
16. Increased number of Americans without health care
17. Rejection of minimum wage increases - five consecutive years
18. Applying the principle of awarding lucrative contracts to crony companies without competitive bidding
19. Attempts to privatize Social Security
20. Four consecutive years of increases in the percentage of Americans living in poverty

I find it amusing that Bush's own party did not support him but the Democrats did.

Wait until credit tightens more, companies cannot use their lines to pay suppliers or meet payroll.
No paycheck - only then voters will find out this is not just a Wall street problem. Its a problem coming to their street.

Imagine how this will look at Thanksgiving - no turkey, no home.

Bush can spend billions on the war, on another country for their freedom, approved by your local Republican, but now Americans will go homeless.

Take the billions and spend it at home. Bring the money back to help Americans.

No not you. If I wanted to move you.....I would put more CAPS AND ALL SORTS OF $%)(*& and >>>>>>>> Stuff like this %*&*_++__))( to get your attention. It's seems to be a limited way to communicate, but if it works for you. I can tell that you are much more well off than be aware of the consequences of all of this. Heck...you're a master of the keyboard. I guess being of the party of Bush and the republicans......common sense isn't something you'll pick up quickly on.

The Democrats have the majority in the Senate, sen. Pelosi made a speech in favor of his party, however, 90 of them voted against.
Do not let's take the blame on the Republicans, if Pelosi considered a law made by democratic party, why his party did not vote compact and complete?
Do not say stupid things, there is an economic crisis created by people without scruples who thought only of their interest.
And we should save that kind of people .. which are said to call Manager, CEOs, and so on.
Obama was saying that at this time was more important the debate of the Economic Crisis.

Now we want a solution, Stop this partisanship, We Need a Solution!! Not just Words!

She talks about working bi-partisan magic to save the economy, but she can not resist blaming the Bush administration for the financial demise. As Rep. Boehner stated this one comment may have caused the Republicans to vote against it. Yes, it is childish , both the comment and the Republicans voting against it. But if Speaker Pelosi wants to make this another example how the GOP is to blame for everything, what did she expect? Was every banker in this country a Democrat? Was everyone with a sub-prime mortgage that lost their job a Republican? I doubt it . But they are all Americans. What doesn't Congress understand about that simple fact?

"I must recognize the outstanding leadership provided by Chairman Barney Frank, whose enormous intellectual and strategic abilities have never before been so urgently needed, or so widely admired."

Wait a second! Is that the same Barney Frank who fought off the Bush administration's two dozen attempts at reining in Fannie and Freddie saying "I think it is clear that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are sufficiently secure so they are in no great danger... I don't think we face a crisis; I don't think that we have an impending disaster. ...Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do very good work, and they are not endangering the fiscal health of this country... I don't see any financial crisis.

Why, yes. I think that is the same Barney Frank! Well done, B!

"I also want to recognize Rahm Emanuel, who combined his deep knowledge of financial institutions with his pragmatic policy experience, to resolve key disagreements."

Is that the same Rahm Emanuel who "who served on the board of Freddie Mac and... opposed every reform proposed by the Bush Administration"? The same Rahm who reportedly fast-tracked illegal aliens through the voter registration process to promote vote fraud? And has blind trusts valued at between $6.5 million and $28 million (the hallmark of an honest politician)? That's deep knowledge of financial institutions!

in true liberal 'communist' fashion...barney, chris, franklin steal the money up front and then try to steal the rest when they 'fix' the problem they created by design. there are so many of their useful idiots running loose now, see above posts...(reference lenin if you're confused) bail out or not the end of our republic is written on the wall.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU6fuFrdCJY

I am astounded by the backlash against Pelosi on her speech. I think she showed true leadership by speaking out against the Bailout proposed by the least popular and competent President this country has ever seen. The Republicans pushed for less regulation and even still push for the private sector to handle Social Security? I am not about more government but we all have proven that we cannot be trusted with the keys to the car. Thank god McCain stepped up and 'suspended' his campaign last week despite still giving interviews and attending rallies. He needs to take a page out of the Obama playbook and tell the American people his plan. All I have heard from him is, well, let me see.......

You miss the point on the Republicans' reaction to Pelosi's rant. They didn't switch their votes because she hurt their feelings, they switched their votes because it was obvious she wasn't serious about passing the bill.
Pelosi is the worst Speaker of the House ever.

First of all. Most Americans and certainly most Democrats agree with Pelosi's words regarding Bush and the venal House Republicans.

Secondly, Pelosi knew that the House Republicans couldn't and wouldn't deliver on their GOP leadership promise to vote for the bill. So, she believed that since it wasn't going to pass, she might as well say what most other Democrats believe.

Pelosi should talk like this more often. The House Republicans will whine and stomp their feet like 3 year olds no matter what she says.

This was an obvious setup by Pelosi and her hench-libs. The people will see through this, given time. Like everyone else, the Dems know that the bill is a dog, and they didn't want to be left holding the leash. The Democrats got us into this mess, blamed the Republicans, then were agreeable to further damaging the economy by having this bill passed. If they really wanted it passed, they could have done it themselves, without this "bipartisan" nonsense. But they know that it's stupid, left wing thinking. The Democrats have no real faith in their own party's ability to lead, and they don't care. The whole fiasco has been nothing but an election year ploy by the Democrats, who would gladly put us further in the soup, as long as it lands their man in the White House.

You're right Republicans voted it down......along with 40% of the Dems. Obama couldn't even get his party in-line. If it's such a great idea you would think he could lead them to do it, what went wrong....maybe THEY were mad about Pelosi's speech ha ha!?

The root of this problem is too much govt activity, not too little. The root of the problem is bad mortgages and the root of the bad mortgages is Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In order to be nice to people who couldn't qualify in the free market, liberals set up policies at these two Democratic politician retirement spots that either gave $300,000 mortgages to those who didn't qualify or guaranteed loans other lenders took out on these horrible loans. A lender would get a loan application that was within the ballpark, but not eligible for a loan, send it to Freddie Mac anyway, just to see if they would guarantee it and Freddie Mac would, time and time again. Stupid liberal policy lead us to this financial crisis. On the free market, these people would never have gotten the loans. Only with govt intervention did they get these loans that they should not have.
And now, predictably, after stupid big govt policy ruins things, the answer is of course not to immediately set up a plan to divest Fannie and Freddie from all their loans within 10 years and then close them down, it's more govt intervention! Giving $300,000 loans to people who don't qualify...Brilliant!

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